The components of an automobile are connected together in many different ways. One type of connection uses a fastener, such as a bolt or screw.
The packaging space in vehicles is often very limited due to the number of components used to assemble the vehicle, the size of the vehicle, and the like. Some of the area between components, such as a B-pillar and an appliqué, is very limited. This requires some of the fastener designs to be very small. Typically, one type of connector used for retaining two components is a molded “doghouse.” A doghouse is a molded-in feature used to attach a secondary clip. Alternatively, the doghouse is used for driving a threaded screw.
Molded-in features, such as a doghouse, often cause a “read” condition on the show surface of a part resulting from differences in cooling temperatures, caused by differences in mass/volume of the resin between the feature and the substrate. A read condition is a deformation or imperfection in a surface. The limited space also causes a tooling condition that is very fragile due to the reduced size. A feature of the type described above has a minimum workable size which does not facilitate the doghouse having suitable strength. The size of the part and the proximity of adjacent features limit the packaging space and travel of movable feature (lifters) in the mold.
Other designs include a separately molded doghouse which is attached with an adhesive backing applied to the part. These designs also lack suitable strength and do no meet space limitations in current low profile designs. Certain design requirements also include a push on wing type clip. This presents further space constraints which are unaddressed by current designs.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a retainer which provides a suitable connection between an appliqué and a pillar, such as an A-pillar, B-pillar, or C-pillar of an automobile.